Sandbox/Mikaeans/VII
Fashion on Xyon has historically be lax and revealing by the standards of most human cultures and societies, focusing on the promotion of one's physical looks and beauty, with protection from the elements being of secondary concern. , or "high fashion", as found on has traditionally been lacking in the straightforward and simplistic culture of the Mikaeans, with the concept of and dress being unknown concepts to the average Mikaean. While fashion on Xyon has always been a blossoming industry, it caters to radically different tastes and norms for the Mikaeans, who are more driven and influenced by carnal and lecherous desires than by humans. Styles Dress norms on Xyon are infamously lax and permissive, with short skirts, tight pants, and lot-cut tops an omnipresent sight throughout the megacities of the planet. This is legitimized by the Mikaeans on the basis of three beliefs; all Mikaeans look the same, and thus have nothing another Mikaean hasn't seen before; there is nothing shameful about the body given to them by their creator, and hiding it would be an affront to him; and that all Mikaeans are apart of the same family, and families hide nothing from one another, not even their own bodies. Furthermore, Mikaeans are far more driven by their base sexual desires compared to humans, leading to a far more "lascivious" culture by the standards of existing human norms of behavior. As such, Mikaean attire quite literally leaves little to the imagination. Loose crop-tops, wide midriffs, sheer leggings, microshorts and short shorts, and the infamous nanoskirts are just some of the clothing styles that dominate the fashion scene on Xyon, and are extremely popular with Mikaean women. Mikaean nanoskirts are notoriously short, falling just below the crotch and buttocks, and providing no cover while seated or during windy days, not aided by the omnipresent act of "free-buffing" in Mikaean society. Considered one of the "cultural shocks" between humans and Mikaeans, with the human population considering Mikaeans to be loose, immoral, and crass, whereas Mikaeans have considered humans to be prudish, obstinate, and puritanical, all based solely on the dress of the two species. When factoring in the advances in fabric material and production, and the creation of Mikaean pellicloth more than two centuries ago, or "skin clothing", Mikaean outfits have the ability to hug every crack and crevasse of the body, making Mikaean fashion sense even more inappropriate in the eyes of human observers. Due to the total lack of physical variation in the clonal Mikaean species, and aforementioned sexual predilections of the population, Mikaean women actively seek to set themselves apart from one another to garner attention to themselves, both to define themselves as unique and to upstage their sisters in the constant fight for popularity within the community. Whereas males are insular, reserved, and rarely seen outside of their palatial complexes, Mikaean women are deliberately provocative in their choice of clothing. Indeed, male Mikaeans are the absolute opposite of their female counterparts, refusing to exit their homes without being covered from head to toe. Culturally-speaking, men are expected to be reserved while out in public, and maintain a decent image of themselves as the fathers of the species, being held to a completely different standard and set of moral norms than women. Full three-piece suits, dress coats, and ties are the primary attire of Mikaean men, who as a consequence of their public status, must present an particular image than Mikaean women are both unable and unwilling to maintain. Formal dress codes are applied to males when in public at all times, with the average male required to have a series of retainers prepared to groom them and maintain their image when away from their estates. Informal dress is solely reserved for time spent while at home and away from the public eye, where men are permitted to dress down as much as they wish, and frequently do in the comfort of their own home. While the standards applied to men are maintained for publicity's sake, male Mikaeans hold the same beliefs as their women, and are just as keen to dress freely when possible. Other =Onyx= Onyx is a Mikaean colony located in the some TBD light-years from Xyon. History Discovery and colonization Onyx was discovered in TBD YM within the during the two-year long expedition of the [[MVS Blackblossom|MVS Blackblossom]], which had been sponsored by the Mikaean government on Xyon to seek out habitable worlds and new life. Onyx was found to be capable of hosting life by the Xyon Stellar Committee, and once the report of its biome and potential resources were transmitted by the MVS Blackblossom several days later, upon the recommendation of the XSC the Xyon federal government authorized the colonization of the planet in TBD YM. Several corporations were commissioned by the government to draw up colony ship designs for the mission to Onyx, a step which had not yet been taken due to the skepticism of many politicians and government officials who feared the cost of building such vessels ahead of finding a suitable world to send them to. Seeking to be the first to fulfill the commission and ripe the benefit of accessing Onyx's vast resources, the three largest aerospace companies on Xyon, Isard Aerospace Systems, Kavelin Aerospace Industries, and Kellahan put forth their ideas for the first colony ship to depart Xyon for Onyx. Of the three corporations, Kellahan came out ahead with its ''Origin''-class colony ship, which could host 20,000 passengers within acceptably comfortable conditions long enough to settle them upon Onyx. The modular design of the Origin-class also won federal recognition of Kellahan's proposed vessel compared to the more expensive and non-modular prototypes put forth by Isard and Kavelin. The [[MVS Origin|MVS Origin]] was constructed over the course of three years on Xyon, and was eventually commissioned by the Xyon Space Forces in TBD YM. Due to the nature of the colonial venture, the Mikaean government was keen on micromanaging the selection of potential colonists, security personnel, and government officials that would be sent to the distant world. At the time the MVS Origin was under construction, the federal government spent more than a year combing through some nearly one million candidates for the colonization effort, trimming the number down to the 20,000 individuals that would ultimately be selected for the trip. Colonel TBD from the Xyon Ground Forces was appointed by Supreme Director TBD and the Supreme Federal Congress to oversee the entire colonization mission, along with seven other individuals handpicked by the government for the mission. Likewise, as a concession for their part in the design and construction of the MVS Origin, several representatives from Kellahan were assigned to the mission as well to survey the lands on Onyx, and begin preparations for the extraction of resources there for their own benefit. On TBD TBD TBD YM, the MVS Origin was finally launched some five years after Onyx had been discovered by the MVS Blackblossom, taking with it its thousands of colonists, light and industrial equipment, weapons and vehicles, and flora and fauna necessary to begin the light terraforming needed to bring the planet within the range of standards set by the XSC. The MVS Origin would make landfall about six weeks later after surveys of the planet for a prime colonization location had been confirmed, and the land cleared by the security teams brought from Xyon. Growth of colony The colonial administration Col. TBD wasted no time in ensuring the initial stabilization of the landfall process, managing the layout of housing and light industry, confirmation of farmland development, and securing the outskirts of the new settlement from hostile wildlife that had been discovered during the earlier surveying missions while in orbit. The Supreme Federal Congress back on Xyon granted TBD's administration the honor of naming the first settlement on Onyx, which following a vote held by the colonists, agreed upon naming their new settlement Erikrsby in honor of an ancient patron from Xyon. The growth of Erikrsby was rapid once the first creche on the planet had been established, and the archon assigned to the colonial venture, TBD, spawned the first generation of Onyx-born Mikaeans there. Infrastructure was rapidly developed once additional supplies were secured by a fleet of transport vessels built prior to the MVS Origin's commissioning. Within the first ten years of the colony's foundation, the planet's population spread out from Erikrsby at a rapid pace; the population jumped from the initial 20,000 colonists to a massive 250,000 inhabitants, all in line with the Mikaean reproduction standards on Xyon. However, Onyx witnessed an immediate crash in terms of its ability to host the population efficiently. The Federal Oversight Bureau reported that the colonists on Onyx had not properly prepared for their rapid expansion, lacking the infrastructure needed to sustain the housing, agricultural, and industrial needs of those Mikaeans living outside of Erikrsby. Indeed, the mining facilities necessary for self-sufficient resource extraction on Onyx were still in the planning phases, and the farmland surrounding Erikrsby had not yet overtaken the native flora on the planet that weakened the crops and lowered the soil quality the crops sat on. Indeed, there were several colonists who believed that the use of crops from Xyon rather than the native flora were one of the many issues hampering the potential prosperity of Onyx in the long-run. Though her work was highly commendable for the initial colonization of the planet and management of its growth in the first decade of its history, Col. TBD was ultimately reprimanded for her failure in preventing the runaway growth of the population, and in TBD YM, was transferred back to Xyon, though following the end of her service she would return to Onyx as a civilian. Fearing a possible famine from the lack of available farmlands, the new colonial governor of Onyx, TBD, authorized the development of new farmlands using the native flora and fauna deemed safe for consumption, as well as commissioning the movement of foodstuffs from Xyon to Onyx as a short-term measure to sustain the population prior to the development of agricultural industries in the colony. Her efforts were successful in preventing a widespread famine, though it nearly bankrupted Onyx and nearly saw her and her government sacked by the Supreme Federal Congress for wasting federal tax dollars. In spite of this, TBD was permitted to retain her office for saving the colony from disaster, and implementing measures to develop greater self-sufficiency for Onyx agriculturally. In TBD YM, Frawley Power Systems established a foothold in the district of New Hall, where it would replace Onyx's solitary fusion power plant with a much larger one, caring for all of the power needs of the colony for the next fifty years. The presence of this power plant would grant Frawley, and by extension, it parent company Bohan Hydroponics, huge amounts of political capital on the Onyx at the expense of Kellahan. This move was the first of many allowing corporations to purchase a stake in the colony's future, resulting in a weak colonial administration overrun by corporate interests and widespread corruption. The Federal Oversight Bureau made no efforts to restrict this behavior, as it was advised that allowing the corporations to bare the cost of developing Onyx made them weaker back home on Xyon. =Voidships= The Mikaeans have been highly active in human affairs on Earth since establishing contact with them in the 1970s. Active planetary interventions have only been a recent occurrence, with the development of fusion power and affordable space travel by the Mikaeans permitting their ability to move military personnel to Earth rapidly. All voidships currently fielded by the Mikaeans can make the trip from Venus to Earth in just a day and a half during the closest approach between the two planets, and about nine and a half days at their farthest locations, all at 1 G acceleration and factoring in a flip and burn mid-way during travel. Because of this, the Mikaeans have been able to deploy tens of thousands of troops on Earth from Venus, and rapidly reinforce them within a matter of days. ''Aleph''-class voidship The Aleph-class voidship is the primary space vessel utilized by the Mikaean Interstellar Navy for all major operations requiring an inexpensive yet capable ship that can be deployed anywhere in the Solar System at a moment's notice. It is the most numerous spaceship produced on Venus, with more than two hundred of the vessels in active service with the Mikaean military. The primary power projection configuration for these vessels is that of the Standard Battalion System (SBS), which allows an Aleph voidship to carry some 600 troops and all of their combat equipment, along with three months worth of food, water, and ammunition for high-intensity combat into an active warzone. During this time, the ship itself will serve as the primary operations headquarters and residence for the troops, providing all of the security they will need in hostile territory. Specifications (Aleph) *'Crew:' 108 (28 officers and 80 enlisted) *'Passengers:' 597 troops (Standard Battalion System) *'Cargo:' *'Length:' *'Width:' *'Height:' *'Safe thrust:' 3 G *'Max thrust:' 5 G ''Beth''-class voidship Specifications (Beth) *'Crew:' 0 (0 officers and 0 enlisted) *'Passengers:' 0 troops *'Cargo:' *'Length:' *'Width:' *'Height:' *'Safe thrust:' 3 G *'Max thrust:' 5 G ''Gimel''-class voidship Specifications (Gimel) *'Crew:' 0 (0 officers and 0 enlisted) *'Passengers:' 0 troops *'Cargo:' *'Length:' *'Width:' *'Height:' *'Safe thrust:' 2 G *'Max thrust:' 3 G